This samosa chaat uses storebought samosas, 10-minute Cholay, and tamarind and red chutneys to create a party in your mouth you'll want to go to over and over again!
Mirchili ki Samosa Chaat
This chaat is my attempt at recreating the one at Karachi's famous chaat restaurant Mirchili. I have always loved that that chaat shies away from a green chutney in favour of a red one and the traditional imli ki chutney. There is something about that combination that makes it just sing.
It took some testing and retesting, but I finally have a combination that is
- easy to put together
- well balanced
The result: a samosa chaat with the lovely textures of an aloo samosa, the tender warm spiced chickpeas, the cold sweet dahi, and some serious attitude thanks to the two chutneys, papri and chaat masala.
While I cannot say whether this is a true copycat or not what I can say is this: it's so freaking good.
Samosa Chaat Ingredients
Like many chaat recipes this Samosa Chaat has several components.
1.) The samosa - I use store-bought here, the large flaky pastry kind
2.) The chickpeas - there are lots of ways of making these, but here I opt for something simple and full flavored
3.) The red chutney - this was the trickiest component, but man do I love the spicy tangy base and how that end ingredient (yes, ketchup!) just completes it!
4.) The tamarind or imli chutney - I use my homemade Imli ki Chutney because I like how it has some seriuous attitude, but you can use whichever one you like.
5.) Sweetened yogurt - this is the perfect counterbalance to the spicy, tangy flavours of the other components
6.) Toppings - Masala papri is my preferred but regular works, cilantro or coriander for freshness, and chaat masala because it rocks.
Assembling Samosa Chaat
Here is a little visual for how to make it
Samosa Chaat Cups
Recently I made this Samosa Chaat in cup form at an iftari. I used cocktail Aloo Samosas and 4 ounce plastic cups. Here is what I learnt
- While you can keep the layering order in the main recipe I recommend adding an additional drizzle of both chutneys on the samosas themselves
- Add the papri right at the end, or serve it on the side for people to add themselves.
- Since the mini samosas get a little softer because they are layered in advance, a little additional diced onion for crunch is nice
- For 20 cups you will need 60 cocktail samosas, 1.5 cans of chickpeas and one container of sweetened yoghurt thinned out (you may have some left).
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Made this Samosa Chaat recipe? I'd love to hear what you think! Rate the recipe below by clicking the stars on the recipe card and/or leave a comment below!
Samosa Chaat Recipe with Chole
Equipment
- wok/ saucepan
Ingredients
- 4 Potato Samosas (the large kind)
Red Chutney
- ½ cup tamarind pulp (strained)
- ½ cup water
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp bhunna zeera (roasted cumin powder)
- 1 tsp bhunna dhania (roasted coriander powder)
- 1 tbsp kashmiri laal mirch (kashmiri chilli powder)
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- ½ tsp kala namak (himalayan black salt, looks pink ground up)
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp ketchup
Chole / Cholay
- 1 19 oz can chickpeas (drained)
- 2.5 cups water
- ¾-1 tsp salt
- ¾ tsp red chili powder
- ¾ tsp coriander powder
- ¾ tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp chaat masala
Sweet Yoghurt
- 500 g yogurt
- ⅔ cup water
- 3 tbsp sugar
Additional toppings
- ½ batch Imli chutney or ⅔ cup your favorite storebought imli chutney
- masala papri
- chaat masala
- chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Heat your samosas right before assembly
Red Chutney
- Combine all the ingredients except the ketchup in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer and cook for 5-6 minutes until thickened.
- Add ketchup and adjust seasoning to liking.
Chole / Cholay for Samosa Chaat
- Combine all the chole/cholay ingredients except chaat masala in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, simmer till the chickpeas are tender, approximately 10 minutes.
- Mash a little to create a thicker 'gravy', you want some liquid left in there because it really adds to the overall dish.
- Add chaat masala, and adjust seasoning.
Sweet Yoghurt
- Whisk together yoghurt, sugar, and cold water
Assembly
- For each samosa chaat plate break up one heated samosa, ladle over a big spoon of the cholay mixture, drizzle over ¼-1/3 cup of your sweet yoghurt, then put about 2-3 tbsp each of imli ki chutney and red chutney, top with papri and chaat masala and a little cilantro.
Notes
- I used bhunna zeera and dhania for extra flavour, but if you don't have it then regular is fine, it'll just be a little less smoky
- how much yoghurt you want overtop will depend a little on you, but this quantity should give you room to adjust
- for potato samoasa I use the bigger kind with the crispy, flaky outer later, but if you are using the more petite variety you can use twice the number of samosas. For samosa chaat cups refer to the post.
Hafsah says
Sarah, thanks a lot for all your great recipes. Your page has lately been my go-to place. Just a question regarding this recipe. Was planning to use it for an iftar dinner. Is it possible to make all the components a day ahead, and then just reheat the cholay and fry samosas before assembling?
abdul says
where do i find tamirind pulp?
can i just use tamirind paste?
Sarah Mir says
You can buy blocks of tamarind in all south asian grocery stores, if you use the paste which is more concentrated then I'd recommend tasting as you go!
Akhtar says
So delicious and authentic! It was a big hit.
Sarah Mir says
Absolutely delighted to hear that! Thank you!
Juveria Shah says
Loved the recipe . The red chutney is something new and loved the addition of ketchup in it .
Sarah Mir says
Juveria - that is the BEST to hear!